Roll bandage with means marking the end thereof



March 23, 1965 p, w, CONRAD 3,174,480

ROLL BANDAGE WITH MEANS MARKING THE END THEREOF Filed Feb. 6, 1965 INVENTOR. Paul W. Conrad ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,174,480 ROLL BANDAGE WITH MEANS MARKING THE END THEREOF Paul W. Conrad, Corner Main and Chestnut Sts., Leetonia, Ohio Filed Feb. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 256,678 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-170) This invention relates to a bandage such as a plaster bandage, gauze bandage and the like which is rolled and which must be unrolled in order to be applied to an injured person, and more particularly to means for enabling the user to readily find and grasp the end of the bandage so that it can be unrolled.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a rolled bandage having visible means making the end thereof to facilitate finding and grasping the same.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rolled bandage having a colored marking applied to its free end.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a rolled bandage having a colored marking area of a color different from the rest of the rolled bandage applied to the free end thereof.

The invention disclosed herein relates to rolled bandages including plaster bandages, gauze bandages, Kling type bandages and other bandages where individual end sections must be separated from the remainder.

Those skilled to the art will recognize that a rolled plaster bandage, for example, when wet creates a problem in finding the free end of the bandage which must be found before the bandage can be unrolled and used. The various other types of rolled bandages present the same problem in greater or lesser degree depending on the material from which they are formed and the tightness of the roll and the manner in which the free end is positioned on the roll. All such rolled bandages are used by first finding the end and then unrolling the same and the difiiculty of finding the end of the rolled bandage frequently consumes valuable time on the part of the physician or surgeon which could be used in applying the bandage.

The present invention therefore provides a rolled bandage with a readily identifiable color marking on the free end so that it can be visually determined and picked up for unrolling.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the invention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a rolled bandage showing color markings applied to the free end thereof.

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the bandage seen in FIG- URE 1 and showing the manner in which the color marked free end is picked up by the user.

By referring to the drawings and FIGURE 1 in particular, it will be seen that a rolled bandage has been disclosed and generally indicated by the numeral and that the free end of the bandage is indicated by the numeral 11 where it is in adhering relation to the rolled bandage 10. The bandage 10 may comprise a plaster bandage which is formed of a strip of gauze rolled with plaster and adapted to be wet before being unrolled or applied, or the bandage may comprise a dry gauze bandage of roughened woven texture or the Kling unwoven ice type wherein the material is of gauze-like characteristic and is stretchable, or such other rolled bandage materials as are so known in the art. The free end 11 of the rolled bandage 10 as seen in FIGURE 1 has colored marking areas 12, 12 applied thereto, and as shown in FIGURE 1 these comprise a plurality of separate colored areas applied transversely of the end of the bandage so as to be readily visible and to indicate the end 11 so that it can be picked up from the bandage roll. Additionally, the color markings in FIGURE 1 form triangular members representing arrowheads 13, 13 pointing in the direction in which the free end must be unrolled from the bandage. Thus, the color markings 12 and 13 in their preferred embodiment as seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawings are applied directly to the bandage material and may comprise any color desirable and capable of distinguishing the same from the color of the bandage material. The color markings indicate both the end of the roll of bandage, as well as the direction in which the end must be. unrolled.

In FIGURE 2 of the drawings the rolled end of the bandage 10 as seen in FIGURE 1 may be seen, together with the representation of a hand of a user showing the manner in which the fingernail of the index finger of the hand may be engaged beneath the end of the rolled bandage 10 so that the free end may be picked up and unrolled.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in the case of a plaster bandage, which has been moistened by placing the same in water prior to use, it will present quite a difficult problem in determining where the free end lies and that by color marking the free end the problem is eliminated.

It will thus be seen that the invention herein disclosed relates to the formation of a rolled bandage wherein the free end is identified by color marking which aids in grasping the free end of the bandages and thereby facilitates the quick identification and rapid unrolling of the same and having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A rolled piece of fabric material impregnated with plaster for use as a plaster bandage and having a free end in contact with said roll, identifying markings on said free end on the visible surface thereof, said identifying markings including directional arrows in contrasting color pointing away from said free end of said bandage indicating the direction in which said free end must be unrolled.

2. A rolled piece of fabric material impregnated with a medicinal material for use as a bandage and having a free end in contact with said roll and wherein said medicinal material causes adhesion between the layers of the rolled bandage, identifying markings on said free end on the visible surface thereof, said identifying markings comprising contra-sting colored tringular areas pointing away from said free end of said bandage indicating the direction in which said free end must be unrolled.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,638,254 8/27 Freydberg et al. 128-l70 1,953,898 4/34 Reed 128-91 2,015,268 9/35 Hammond 117-122 FOREIGN PATENTS 113,066 2/ 18 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Johnson & Johnson Catalog and Service Book, 7th Ed., pages 4041, 1949.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. 

1. A ROLLED PIECE OF FABRIC MATERIAL IMPREGNATED WITH PLASTER FOR USE AS A PLASTER BANDAGE AND HAVING A FREE END IN CONTACT WITH SAID ROLL, IDENTIFYING MARKINGS ON SAID FREE END ON THE VISIBLE SURFACE THEREOF, SAID IDENTIFYING MARKINGS INCLUDING DIRECTIONAL ARROWS IN CONTRASTING COLOR POINTING AWAY FROM SAID FREE END OF SAID BANDAGE INDICATING THE DIRECTION IN WHICH SAID FREE END MUST BE UNROLLED. 